Following a review into Svenska Spel’s 10 biggest-spending customers during a set period in 2021, the regulator found those players showed signs of excessive gambling.
It further determined in its assessment that Svenska Spel had “not taken sufficient measures to protect the players against excessive gambling and helped them to reduce their gambling when there was reason to do so.”
At the time, Svenska Spel responded that: “Since the 2021 supervisory period, Svenska Spel Sport & Casino has further developed gambling responsibility, including by checking the income of customers who want to set high gambling limits, as well as a more spot-proof selection for welfare calls.”
Court upholds Svenska Spel’s appeal
Svenska Spel subsequently appealed the decision to the istrative Court in Linköping, which announced its decision to uphold the appeal yesterday (2 June).
In its appeal, the operator said it believed it had fulfilled the requirements of its licence under Sweden’s Gambling Act, by continuously monitoring customers’ gambling behaviour and taking responsible gambling measures to help players reduce their gambling when there had been reason to do so.
According to the court, the operator further argued that “since there are no supplementary and concrete rules in the constitution that clarify which measures should be taken and when, Svenska Spel’s measures must — in accordance with the principle of legality — be considered sufficient when examining whether there were grounds for intervention.”
In its assessment of Svenska Spel’s appeal, the court said it “bases its assessment on the so-called legality principle, which means that an authority may only take measures that are ed by the legal order.
“A violation of the gambling liability rules in the Gambling Act can therefore only lead to liability if it is sufficiently clear to the individual what he or she should have done to avoid the penalty, but has failed to do so.”While the court accepted that the losses attributed to the customers in question stood as evidence that they had gambled excessively, it said Svenska Spel had taken several measures to reduce the risk of harm.
Decision made on basis of legality
“The istrative court understands the Gambling Authority’s views that it can be questioned whether the measures taken by Svenska Spel in all cases have been sufficient to counteract the harmful effects of excessive gambling and whether they have been taken quickly enough,” the court said.
“At the time of the supervision, however, there were no concrete rules and practices for licensees to follow regarding which measures needed to be taken to fulfil the duty of care in accordance with Chapter 14, Section 1 of the Gambling Act, and when these measures should be taken in such a case.
“The assessment of whether it is right to intervene with a warning and a penalty fee must therefore be characterised by restrictiveness in order to be compatible with the principle of legality.”
The court concluded: “The istrative Court’s overall assessment is that it has not been shown that Svenska Spel has failed in its duty of care under Chapter 14, Section 1 of the Gambling Act in such a way that it constitutes grounds for intervention under Chapter 18, Section 12 of the Gambling Act. The Court has therefore decided to overturn the Gambling Authority’s decision.”
Svenska Spel calls decision ‘gratifying’
In response to the decision, Fredrik Wastenson, CEO and business area manager for Svenska Spel Sport & Casino AB said: “It is gratifying that the istrative Court upholds our appeal and overturns the decision of the Swedish Gambling Authority.
“We appealed because we believe that the penalty fee is disproportionate in relation to the shortcomings and because there is a need to create greater clarity in the interpretation of the duty of care.
“We believe that the authority may only take measures that are ed by the legal order, the so-called principle of legality, which the court has also stated.”
The judgement has not yet entered into legal force, however, and may still be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Jönköping.
